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My fleet of junk cars is nearing 200K and the time has come for me to buy a new car.

My local dealer has a 2005 LX Civic sedan (new) they will sell me for invoice. It has an auto tranny.

I have read a ton of posts in researching this vehicle, some of which indicate some tranny problems for the 7th generation Civics.

I reasoned that in as much as the 2006 models were new, that the safe thing to do was go with the mature design of the 2005/7th gen Civic and save a little $$ in the process vs the '06 models.

It is really a nice car and I especially like the idea of 38 mpg.

Any advice, warnings or recommendations would be much appreciated!

Thanks!
Bill

 
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i have a 02 coupe MT love the car great gas mileage and reliable only work done on it was normal maintence. i drive my bros 04 ex sedan MT around and it is a good car too. if you are interested in the 8thgens wait another year, it is like with every new gen gotta work out the kinks. yes every car has their problems but i dont think the tranny is a big issue i have a manual so i wouldnt really know, but everyone here will agree good car will last you 200k.

 
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I've never heard of a high incidence of transmission problems with the 7th gens. My 01 has had front struts replaced at 20,000mi., but this problem may may be improved with the 2005s.

 
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I have an 05 Coupe Vp (same as lx) and love it! Would've of liked a sedan but oh well... I think as long as you maintain proper maintenance and don't run it in the ground you'll be happy.

 
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My 2001 sedan MT has 110, 000 km (about 60000 mi) with no major repairs
Front struts replace at 50, 000 km
I think that Honda beefed up the design of the struts
I average 7 litre/100 km no matter how I drive or what time of year
About 50/50 city/highway

 
Rep Power: 320

Yeah, they have tranny problems, that is why Honda generally will pay around 2/3 the cost of a replacement of an auto tranny even after it s out of warranty. My advise is to go with an '06, they have better trannys and if you can go with a manual, you'r probably in the same range as that auto. Plus the '06 civic's come with a 60,000 mile and 5 year power train warranty where the '05 only comes with a 36,000 miles 3 year warranty. But if you do go with an '06, get either a Japan made sedan (hard to find) or a coupe, just my .02. My fiancee went from an '04 to an '06, the '04 was lemon law for leaking problems.

But yeah, the 7thgens are know to have a weak clutch plate in the enagement system of the auto's, second plate if I remember correctly.

 
Rep Power: 348

We've got 2 auto's. No issues with any of their trannies. The older black car is @ 88k miles while the new silver car is at 35k miles. Both very reliable cars.

They've never been driven hard except by me, and I don't normally take the black car above 4k rpm. Very reliable trannies. I had issues with the struts on the black car, but once again, no tranny issues.

 
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Struts where a problem with the '01-'02 and a little bit in '03.

 
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Thanks everyone for your advice.

I brought home the Civic today. I've got my fingers crossed this car will last a long time and handle a lot of miles over the years.

Thanks again,
Bill

 
Rep Power: 346

you should not pay more than 14,930 for that car

 

I have a 2005 EX SE Sedan that I bought about 10 months ago. Haven't had any problems with it at all. I would venture to say that driving habits can induce problems with the automatic transmissions as well as that there could be a hereditary weakness within. This is my 4th civic and have never had problems with them that I wouldn't consider normal wear and tear. However, this is my first auto so we will see over the long run how it holds-up.

 
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how much did you pay?

 
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The price was about $15,700, including freight, but excluding tax.

Thanks,
Bill

 
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could have saved yourself 800 bucks or more -

HondaSales knows all

 
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Where? Not at the dealer I bought from. Invoice was as low as they'd go and that was a straight out deal, no trade-in.

They had two of these 2005's left. The same day I committed to buying the one I bought, someone else bought the other.

All things considered, where I live, I think I came out as good as I could.

Of course, I had looked at a Chevy Aveo for several thousand less, but I think my money is better spent on the Honda.

Bill

 
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Congrats on being one of the last new 7th gen buyers.

It sounds like the price you paid was in the ballpark where it should have been. I found saw $15,345 as a average buying price for the LX sedan w/o side airbags, but when there are only two left and there are still people interested, the dealer is in control. There are extremely few new 2005 Toyotas or Hondas around at this point. Toyota was offering some good rebates on the remaining 05s until Nov. 30 but when I called around there were none left, despite what their online inventories were showing. So you were lucky to get an 05 Civic, if that's what you wanted.


If you need accessories, splash guards, floor mats, air filters, H and A accessories is a good online source. I bought my splash guards from them. Even if you don't want to buy from them, you can see what is available.

Good luck with the Civic.

 
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That's very, very interesting that Honda is extending its warranty.

Sales dropping off perhaps?

 
Rep Power: 320

Congrats on the new car! If you have any questions, please ask us

 
Rep Power: 320

Well, I think it has almost become industry standard. I mean if you look at coompanies like Dodge and Ford, they sometimes offer longer warranties then Honda. Honda's have a repuation for being reliable, if they don't start having a more competitive warranty, that would tell me (the consumer) they really aren't willing to stand with their product. I would then start questioning their reilablity. But really companies like Hyundia and sometimes even Ford are willing to put 100,000 mile warranties on their cars, and then you look at Hondas that cost almost twice as much for a simliar car, and you don't even get half the warranty. Although I'm sure after 100,000 miles the Honda shoudl be much better than any of those cars, but how many people buy a new car and keep it for 200,000 miles?

But yeah their sales actually have been slowing with the 7thgen, mostly going to Corrola, who offer a better warranty.

Personally I think it was about time they gave better warranties.

 
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I paid only 12,600 for a new 2005 Civic LX sedan in Mass. The dealer gave me a great deal and they needed the room for the new '06 models! AND they still made money (commission) off my purchase.

 
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see

 
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i don't think so, i would like to see the retail order that says you paid 12,600 for an 05 civic lx sedan. if that is the price you paid, the dealer/salesperson made no money off of the sale.

 
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I agree, it's about time that Honda starts to act a little less like they can do whatever they want and start offering something to the customer. Since Honda never offers rebates (Toyota does) the least they can do is offer a little something extra on the warranty.

Honda service could improve as well.

 
Rep Power: 320

Don't get me started on Honda service. But really, I have yet to find a manufacture that has good service, Ford has NICE people and NICE things, but they just follow the flow charts in the helms, like Honda people do, and I have had nothing but problems with Ford too.

 
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should of bought a used 04 civic from a private seller and saved like $3k-$4k

 
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Yes, I'm sure they are all the same, but with Honda and the Japanese cars there are lots of little things built into the car to make you want to take it back to dealer for service. Hey, I would rather go to Jiffy Lube and Midas for everything, but do they know how to work on Hondas?

 
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Why can't we just congratulate the guy and wish him luck with his new Civic?

 
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Have these strut issues recurred on the black civic?

 
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I guess another plus with the 2005 is that the LXs have the 60/40 split folding rear seat. Apparently, this feature is now only available on the EX for the 8th gen. And they say the 8th gen is improved.

Another plus with the 7th gen is the ability to easily replace the stereo head unit. The 8th gen LX and EX is integrated with the dash, so the only way to replace it appears to be to replace the entire dash with a DX dash. I don't think many people would be too keen on that. Too me it sounds like just one more Honda ploy to keep you enslaved to the dealer for work to be done.

I just had my H.U. changed in my 2001 and it only took about 45 minutes, and I still have the original dash.

 
Rep Power: 320

I've worked on all kind of cars, and honestly Hondas are some of the easiest to work on. Honda places everything in very simple to get place, and if you have the manual and know the proper way to get to something it is very easy most of the time. Compared to my current F150 or previous 3 chevy trucks, Hondas are very easy to work on, they have alot of things that just make sense.